The Lakers were too big, too strong, too experienced, too deep and too talented to lose to the shorthanded New Orleans Hornets tonight. Andrew Bynum scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and added three assists to lead the Lakers to their seventh consecutive victory and the top overall spot in the NBA standings. The Lakers are 14-3; the Phoenix Suns fell to 14-4 after their loss at New York. Kobe Bryant added 18 points. Darren Collison, a rookie from UCLA, led the Hornets (7-11) with 20 points.